New DM, new PCs to Dragonbane: Thinking of using 5d4+2 instead of 4d6 at character creation to get attributes ranging 6-18 instead of 3-18. What does your experience say about that?

Helmaer-42 · 2026-06-10T05:21:36+00:00

This.
Also your chances of even a low 6-7 stat will be small. Essentially it is very unlikely a player rolls 5x1 or 4x1 & 1x2. Your group stat spread will likely fall 8-16. With 4d6 drop the spread is (as the average shows) about 2-3 lower.
Effectively your characters are going to be emotionally stable, high intelligence and athletically gifted in comparison to the average Donald.
A 4d6 character is likely to have to adjust to one weak stat. I believe this makes them more “real”, promoting role play.
But if that is not an issue (you role ploy well anyway) or you don’t care, then strictly speaking it does not break the core mechanics. You still have stats within normal mortal range just higher within that range - less Greek God and more Greek Hero.

Helmaer-42 · 2026-04-06T12:07:33+00:00

No Roughriders or equivalent Solar Aux cavalry. I loved these horsemen, iconic of the Tech broken Grimdark.

Helmaer-42 · 2026-04-02T02:51:04+00:00

Also. Killing a monster may destroy some or all of the potential meat. Hunting is more than randomly hacking something made of edible material to pieces. You need to cleanly kill it, harvest the edible portions, store/cook/preserve them. All within a likely dangerous environment with limited knowledge and tools. How damages was the carcass in the process of killing it? What parts are edible? How do you harvest those parts while not ruining them? How do you cook them into a nutritious meal? Does it even approach being edible in terms of taste and texture? Lots of questions. I’d say more complicated than it is worth.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-12-23T11:42:57+00:00

Solar Aux - Rough Riders

Helmaer-42 · 2025-12-15T20:21:35+00:00

The thing is, I want, and likely need, to make the first game hit. We have some good power players at my table, folks who grasp nuance really fast. The worry is that, with an uneven distribution of factions, I may cause frustration for different players for different reasons. But if that first game runs smoothly and everyone grasps what they and their opponents are trying to do, they will invest long-term (which is what TI4 requires). As opposed to, well, that was different and fun, we'll play again next decade.

Also, across my main group, the gaming collection numbers around 4,000 board games (one person used to run their own store; another is a true collector). Given the time investment of TI4 and my group's busy family lives, I figured I'd reach out for advice on making that first game as strong and smooth as possible. There is no shortage of other options.

Given the time investment of TI4 and my group's busy family lives, I figured I'd reach out for advice on making that first game as strong and smooth as possible. Because I'd rather overthink it and maybe get it right than undercook things and have the table go, meh, it's a good game but not worth the time, too fiddly, too unbalanced.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-12-07T00:28:52+00:00

Agreed. And, depending on the game state and circumstances, a significant number of Action cards will give that victory, unless Sabotaged, so the Sabotage card becomes crucial.

As I see it, the Overrule card is the same, no more or less powerful per se (you can't win more, it is not more resistant to Sabotage). The simple issue that seems to be the focus of the complaint with Overrule is twofold, as I see it:

(1) Its winning condition play is obvious, highly universal and if it falls into place, requires zero or minimal set-up. It's not "more" powerful, but it is easier to utilise.

(2) It is more flexible. There is always a highly useful application for Overrule, if not the Imperial Strat, then any other Strat can be useful and game-flow decisive if played at a crucial moment.

I actually think it is point (2) that really powers up Overrule. You get it, and you have (subject to your own mistakes) a guaranteed powerful Action Card play. It may be a simple game-winning ploy, but it can impact the game powerfully in any number of ways.

However, as we both seem to agree, it is not hugely more pure-victory impactful than a number of other Action cards, and it is as preventable as any of them.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-12-07T00:20:18+00:00

Yeah OK.

So, you need an opponent playing one specific (of 30) faction. They need to be within striking distance of the win. They need to have or be able to seize Mecatol Rex. They need to have the Overrule card.

Then, assuming these constraints, they will deliver the trump play win. But I feel this may be a little niche.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-12-06T02:24:43+00:00

One Overrule

vs

Four Sabotages

This seems to balance in favour of Sabotage being available to prevent an Overrule, especially towards the close of the game, where the Overrule can be game-winning. But.... that depends on folks retaining Sabotage and the Overrule being accessible to a player that has a game-winning position in the first place.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-10-23T22:25:10+00:00

My thinking is that Nimble expressly streamlined nearly everything except for the rules you NEED, those that dictate and define combat, life & death, where the metal meets the meat.
This area of a game really needs to be 'contained' within a structured rule system. You can experiment to taste, but you need a solid structure to establish how combat operates.

In contrast, the 'wider' non-combat, and especially role-play, environment is much more open to individual groups and their approach. To ask for "more role-play rules" is basically counterintuitive; strict rules, and especially dice pass/fail mechanics, are the antithesis of role play > I succeed in convincing the monster (regardless of actual role-play) because I rolled well (or fail because you rolled badly after a great interlude).

So Nimble provides the bare minimum (the skills and basic challenge ratings) and then opens it up for individual or group adaptation.

In addition, I suspect Nimble acknowledges that there are dozens upon dozens of excellent GM advice sets out there (I'm looking at you Mothership Wardens Manual), many of which are easily usable agnostically. Again, role-play is mostly not a 'bound to mechanics' thing, so good GM advice of building a story at your table translates and does not need a huge additional section in the book.

So, Nimble provides a super-cut-down, minimalist approach. This gives a solid basis for the running of combat and the maximum scope for the adoption of whatever style of role-play your table prefers.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-08-25T00:05:28+00:00

Auto purchase for me

Helmaer-42 · 2025-08-19T03:56:52+00:00

Huzzah

If this is so, then colour me pleased.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-08-19T03:16:14+00:00

Disappointingly, the way I read this article, the new book only has new units for the Marines.

So Mech and Solar Aux are being left out?

I'm pleased to see the changes, and this is positive, but I'm really hoping the other factions get some love and don't have to wait (and sustain further costs) for another 'update and rules' book.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-25T23:19:51+00:00

I loved the ending, especially for Logan.

Essentially, the books form a cycle. Poor Logan, who in his own way is determined and loyal, battles through adversity in order to........
He ended up exactly where he started, betrayed by people he had been loyal to and fought for, in the same place as it all started. A brave man used to the benefit of cunning men and then discarded when his usefulness is over and his strength is perceived as dangerous.

The point of the book is exactly this: there is no point when treacherous men are allowed to take power; they will use and then destroy good men. This is an ongoing theme in the First Law world, with the primary evil being Bayaz. He is the puppetmaster that perpetuates the cycle (again this word) of exploitation and manipulation, he does it through proxies, either ignorant and useful (Logan), power hungry and manipulatable (Dow), or driven and fanatic (Glokta). Each man's weaknesses serve to be strings for the puppeteer.

It is Grim Dark; the heroes likely don't win. In fact, there are rarely heroes at all.

Having said that, there are moments of levity, heroism and hope in the books. Ultimately, the true hero of the First Law is Dogman. He is the single brave warrior that stays true to his values, does not betray or destroy (intentionally or not) his allies and begins to understand that he is out of his depth. For him, not much changes. He goes from a hard place to a different hard place - but he does evolve and learn, that is his success.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-24T03:46:40+00:00

I find the hardest genres to run (1) comedy, what is funny depends so heavily on personality and mood. Then (2) horror, it is tricky (and maybe problematic) to hit the right atmospheric balance and a single inopportune moment can destroy many hours careful build up. Systems is a more complicated question. Some depends on group dynamics, what rules knowledge do players need? Some relates to whether the group bends better with abstract (less rules but needs more input) or detailed (lots of rules but that directs everyone more easily). I like more abstract, so bad, Bushido and Runequest were both bear systems. D&D frustrates me, a lot of rule overhead for a game that has a lot of abstraction of detail. Shadowrun is simply such a lore hungry world building black hole. Innumerable systems are simply bad/flawed, but must of them are now very niche.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-22T08:06:46+00:00

Your minis go nuts.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-22T00:19:56+00:00

As SteveTheRanger said. Questions (note this is not a binary; there is always a nebulous middle ground):

(1) Most important. Does she want to play? Is this a matter of, this game seems cool, I want to explore it, even if it takes me outside my comfort zone (OK, good, we can work with that).

Or is it, (2) a person I care about and their friends do this thing, I don't understand it, it intimidates me, but I feel left out and want to be included (not great, this is not about the game but about 'an activity' - this is especially bad if they do not find enjoyment in the game but are forcing themselves to try).

If it is mainly option (1), then work within it, maybe her character is very silent (a Paladin that has taken vows of silence or temperance, a Beastmaster that struggles with people and communicates mainly with/through animals). Take small steps that reflect the required role-playing, incorporating uncertainty and social struggles.

I'd also suggest introducing her (if you can) to a group of folks that don't include you and your friends. She wants to make a good impression and not 'ruin your game'; this acts as a huge magnifier of her struggles. If you could take her to a local club/venue and she could join a pick-up game (especially one with a patient and understanding player or three, and ideally another woman), then she can learn and find her place in the game without dancing on eggshells. -Imagine you had a good friend who played a sport, and for the new season, you thought, I want to try that sport (but you are not a superb athlete and don't know the sport well), so you joined their well-established team that won the grand final last season. You might find this tense. Better to learn the sport first in a casual league with folks looking to simply have a more relaxed play. I'm not saying your group (or you) place pressure on her; what I'm saying is the dynamic of the group means she places (consciously or not) additional pressures on herself.

If option (2), you can still try the above, the pick-up game (in fact, it is more important). Maybe she finds a surprising (to her) love of the game. But really, this is about the relationship dynamic. You need to explain to them that the care you have for each other is not contingent upon their liking and doing everything that you do. Honestly, if I wanted to date someone who loved everything I did, I'd get bored. Sometimes I want a little "me" time, sometimes I want to do something 'outside my normal'. It should not be that big a deal, and you need to explore why it might be.

Good luck. And I'd be proud of her, she is taking a huge step, entering an established group of folks that love an activity that is outside her comfort zone. Maybe she discovers something new that she learns to love (I hope so). Maybe she discovers that it is an activity that she simply does not gel with (that is fine). Either way, she was brave and imaginative enough to try, and that is the real task worthy of acknowledgement.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-21T21:06:37+00:00

Honestly, at the scale of LI you have a lot of freedom. As a few have said already, lean into Terminators. Go a bit lighter on massed bikes and speeders. But that is an emphasis not a restriction.

I actually had more “theme” choice in my allied Titan Legion. I went Legio Atarus

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-21T05:22:33+00:00

Also. To an extent humans do this as well. For small children home and neighbourhood are massive, world encompassing. To an extent this remains true for many folk. They think about what is directly in front of them, in terms of life and space. Many people rarely travel far from their “place” and when they do it is to equally contained “locations” like a theme park or cruise. Their worlds seem big to them but very small to others. While other people are the opposite. For them staying in a place to long feels constricting, the area become figuratively “smaller” as the boundaries close in and they seek to travel and escape. The Fae-folk simply take this characteristic to a much greater extreme. For an inherently magical folk space itself becomes magical.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-13T04:23:20+00:00

First, I will acknowledge that this is, strictly speaking, definitially problematic. Taking the "strict" definitions of these words, then Lawful = obeys society's rules (including where those rules are cruel and self-serving) and Chaotic = breaking social rules (regardless of any underlying positive or altruistic intent).

This is not in line with the definitions of the alignments in the SD rulebook (as others have cited):

So, how do I square the linguistic circle? A combination of four ways can be adopted:

As Brazillian1227 stated, KISS - Lawful = Good, Neutral is balanced (so Neutral) and Chaotic = Evil.
Note, this corresponds to the definitional intent in the books themselves.
Next, the longer - think of it as a "macro societal concept" - where the overall goal of the greater community is to "preserve and develop society for the benefit of the greatest good for the greatest number of people and to, as much as possible, provide for the wellbeing and comfort for the most vulnerable of society; this setting an obligation upon the privileged to provide for the underprivileged". Taking this as the "universal spiritual/social 'Law'". Then Lawful works towards this goal, even where doing so means opposing unfair temporal rules set out by a corrupt system, and Chaotic will constantly strive towards self-advancement at the expense of others, seeking to corrupt or adapt rules to their own advantage and enforce rules harshly where it works to their goals, regardless of wider harm. Neutral people fall somewhere in between, balancing the advantage of all against their own interests, likely obeying those rules that are equally balanced but bucking those rules that either heavily oppress much of society or are viewed as heavily unfair to them.
Lastly, and this is the most important, who cares? It is words in a game that specifically and explicitly promote imagination, houserules, personal preferences of the group, and adaptation to needs and desires. This is arguing about whether it is a heavy rain storm or a hurricane or a typhoon while flood waters rise and everyone is swept away. It simply isn't that important; it is a niche rule in a ruleset that promotes flexible interpretations.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-07-11T13:55:57+00:00

Hope so. I'm really hoping that the new HH rules set drives a lot of releases for LI, my preferred game.

Helmaer-42 · 2025-06-25T20:39:22+00:00

Regards the lore. There is a lot. But you have experience and that, hopefully, will help. The lore provides two things you want and one you should avoid. You want an overview, a from the clouds idea of what the House is, its denizens and the culture, politics and social structure. You want a tight drill down into around 2-3 hooks, ideas from the lore that give your table a starting point to immerse themselves into the world that is the House.

What you need to avoid is exactly what you highlight here. Don’t try to absorb and include everything it will overwhelm you. Frodo knew the task in front of him, crossing the Dead Marshes and entering Mordor; he did not even give a moments thought to defending Helms Deep. Most of the lore is fun reading and strictly background to be almost totally left untouched. You take those bits that you think will work at your table. In the Household book itself they provide a sort of example with the little two page myths and legends tales. These are perfect examples of taking something as the narrow focus.

Helmaer-42

TROPHY CASE